Friends of the Earth Birmingham Action Briefing Dec 97/Jan 98

Water Campaign

It's been a while since I wrote to introduce myself and it seems like a good time to tell you what I have been doing water-wise in the meantime.

One of my main areas of concern has been the condition of the River Tame in Birmingham and this was sparked by an invitation by the Environment Agency (EA) to participate in the West Midlands (Tame) Local Environment Agency Plan. John Davison and I took a walk along the canals and the River Tame in the Aston area and under the M6 motorway at Spaghetti Junction in late July to examine the state of the waterways. We were very concerned about their condition and voiced this to the EA. We also pointed out that there was soil spilling from the Star site into the river which could be contaminated. This process is on-going and we are now awaiting the first draft of the plan for our comments.

Following this walk and subsequent correspondence with the EA, I wrote to Birmingham City Council about improving the banks and amenity value of the city's rivers and we hope to have a meeting soon to discuss the matter. I also wrote to the Highways Agency asking if there were any plans to upgrade the drainage from the M6 motorway which, at present, allows the surface runoff to drain straight into the River Tame. I received a very curt response stating that this conformed to the environmental standards of the time and that, when the Midlands Links were constructed, the river was greatly improved. This will also be an on-going matter!

In September, I attended the launch of Severn Trent Water's environmental stewardship report which seems to indicate that they are starting to improve their business in terms of its impact on the environment. This is being led by the chairman and is becoming pervasive to their business which is not to say that they have not got more they could be doing! Dr Bob Breach, the head of the environmental section, is coming to speak to Birmingham FOE on the 24th November 1997 about their environmental policies and I apologise that this was not publicised in the last issue of the newsletter but it was not arranged until late October.

Finally, in my other capacity as a sewage treatment engineer, I attended a conference in Edinburgh arranged by the Commonwealth Engineers' Council as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The theme was sustainable development and about 50 young engineers participated in a lively discussion. Engineers are starting to become acutely aware of their impact on the environment and are beginning to educate new engineers in the need for sustainable development which is good news for the environment.

Laura